A US marine was killed when a roadside bomb hit a foot patrol in an area some 50 km south of Baghdad, the US military said on Tuesday.

The soldier, assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in the blast on Monday when a group of US marines was patrolling the area, the military said in a statement.

The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, the statement added.

Over 2,020 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the start of the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Source: Xinhua